Improvement of living conditions in 1940s New York City through the construction of public housing.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: New York City, Television Production Unit
Sponsor: New York City Housing Authority
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: New York City; Houses and homes; Urban renewal

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - August 1, 2004
Subject: The Slums Must Go!
This 40s film promotes the building of public housing projects to replace slums in New York City. Housing projects are presented as The Answer to poverty, transforming the lives of slumdwellers from misery and danger to the bright, shiny, clean lives the middle class were living in the suburbs, with the father going to work in a crisp suit, the son going to school in a new sweater, and Mom wheeling the baby down a tree-lined sidewalk to the laundry room, where Âthe washing is easy. This is laughable from todayÂs standpoint, where the words Âthe projects conjure up as many images of poverty and crime as Âthe slums used to. But the film does portray the problems of the poor sympathetically, and, at least at first, the housing projects were probably an improvement over the places these people used to live in. So I wouldnÂt laugh too hardÂÂpoverty just turned out to be a lot more complex and difficult a problem than people thought. The film does give a historically interesting view of the original thinking behind public housing projects, as well as the conditions they were designed to ameliorate.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - June 3, 2003
Subject: Public Housing! Woo Hoo!
The relatively dry subject of Why Public Housing Is So Good is explored. People are suffering in slums, and why, building Public Housing seems to solve every imaginarty problem there is! A total glosification of this subject is presented here, made none too convincing with the terribly unconvincing and somewhat nervous Mayor of New York City at the time, William O'Dwyer. Cool end graphic though.

Shotlist

Though ultimately a plug for the New York City Housing Authority, this film begins as a "story about a city -- this city." An extended montage of street scenes, buildings, store windows, diners, subway stations, parks, bridges (the George Washington Bridge), and libraries gives way to a short montage of "the backwash of a city's growth, the slums" (includes shots of Chinatown and the Lower East Side). The film then goes on to dramatize the ways in which people are "ghetto-bound by color, religion, and poverty" (racist landlords, unreasonable rents, etc...). From here we move into a short history of the projects the NYC Housing Authority has built (Red Hook, Vladeck House, Fort Greene, and 2 Frankfort St. are all shown). the housing projects (images here of the demolition and building of apartment complexes as people look on) are discussed as a "way to secure families" and a means to "build a living community of health and happiness" (the camera pans across mailboxes which are labeled with family names of all nationalities).

More shots:
Application and filing process (people filling out forms)
A parade of women with baby carriages bringing laundry to the laundromat
Children brushing teeth in apartment bathroom

Film ends with a final conclusion from Thomas Farrell, Chairman, New York City Housing Authority and the Mayor. Final title reads "The Beginning."

Contains exceptionally good shots of NYC in late 1940's. Elevated trains, pan across skyline, traffic and pedestrians, Lindy's window shopping, ethnic ghettos (Italian etc) pan up skyscrapers, phone booths, Harlem, wrecking ball, buildings being demolished, CU boy brushing teeth, much more recommended.


HIGH-RISE HIGH DENSITY HOUSING LOW INCOME LOW-INCOME HIGH RISE PROJECTS POVERTY POOR PEOPLE NEW YORK CITY SLUMS CLEARANCE PUBLIC HOUSING Danger Lurks
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